In French it is called Baie des Vierges, but it is rumored to have been originally named Baie des Verges, which means Bay of Phalli. Apparently, it warranted this name because of the shape of the rocky pillars on steep north side of the bay. However, the missionaries disapproved (party poopers!) so the name was changed. In Marquesan the bay is called Hanavave, meaning strong surf. The guidebook says that is an appropriate name at times, but we certainly didn’t experience it while we were there.
This bay, whatever you call it, is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in all the South Pacific. Although I knew it was bound to be stunning, since a bay doesn’t get a reputation like that for nothing, but on approach I was worried that it simply wouldn’t live up. I had such high expectations. I was wrong to be worried. The combination of the dramatic steep cliff landscape, the bright green of the tropical flora, and, of course, the phalli made for a stunning arrival scene. Photos can nowhere near do it justice, but that didn’t stop me from trying. Unfortunately, I dropped my lens cap overboard in the process.
When we arrived, we were the first of our convoy to arrive, and there were already 5 boats there, and we circled around until we found a spot we might fit, but it was still a tight squeeze, as we were crowding Icarus II a bit. Fortunately, we knew them from a previous anchorage, and they didn’t seem to mind too much. After we were settled in, boats just kept arriving, one after another, and somehow everyone kept finding a spot to park. By the time True Blue V arrived I think there were 9 or so boats there, and they did the same as us and circled a few times before dropping in a deep spot behind us. We were laughing at ourselves that we had trouble when there were only 5 boats. Then, by the time Lady Carolina arrived, there were something like 12 boats, and in a very un-Lady Carolina like fashion they barreled right up in the middle of us, True Blue V, and a charter boat, and just plopped down amongst us. Now, we are used to being nice and cozy with Lady Carolina, but this was extreme. Some mornings I’m pretty sure I could have stepped off our boat right onto theirs. When the wind was blowing there were no issues, since we all pulled back on our anchors in more or less the same direction. It was during periods of light winds when we were all sort of drifting around that we get a little too close for comfort. In fact, Lady Carolina had to push off the charter boat a couple times. Would you believe that by the time we left there were over 20 boats there? Bay of Virgins is where we learned that there really always seems to be room for one more boat.
Our first afternoon I went out on the paddle board and went over to check the situation at the dock (where could we tie up a dinghy? Where can we dump trash? Etc…) and the local kids asked me, in that clunky sign language that you use when you don’t speak each other’s languages, if they could try the paddle board. So, I seriously spent about an hour and a half with them while they all took turns trying the paddle board. They loved it! And as they got more and more comfortable with me, they got more and more aggressive over who’s turn it was and kept looking to me to adjudicate. Communication was very difficult, since my French is horrible, and one of the girls only spoke a few words of English. Then, after they got even more comfortable, they started asking me for things and simply would not stop. Fishing line, hooks, pencils, notebooks, crayons, erasers. And of course, all of this was communicated playing that sign language game again. I’m not sure if they were just being annoyingly persistent or they were worried I didn’t understand, but they kept asking me over and over for the same stuff. After I became tired of all of the children invading my personal space, I told them I was going back to my boat, and I would see them later. Several times after that I brought pencils and fishing hooks to shore, but I never saw anyone from that group of kids again.
We also enjoyed an easy hike up to a waterfall. This was the waterfall that everyone raves about, although we found the ones on Nuku Hive to be more spectacular. We walked up the road through town a bit, and we were briefly stopped by the local police officer asking if we had already been to Hiva Oa. We passed a small store and peaked in and bought a couple boxes of SAO crackers. These are crackers from Australia that are big and hearty, and they now double as our meat and cheese delivery vehicles when we are out of bread and want sandwiches for lunch.
We were visited at our boat by a Marquesan couple who said they were doing a traditional Marquesan dinner on shore that evening for 1700 XPF per person (roughly $20 US) and would we like to come. They gave us a slightly cheaper price for the boys (That’s a bargain for us since they eat so much) and we told them, yes, all 4 of us would like to come. Lady Carolina originally said no, but we talked them into it, so we let Alex and Brenden off the hook, and they stayed and made their own dinner with Kyle and Joel, and Steve and Carolina joined us at the dinner. Also, there were True Blue V and Dragon Fly, a large catamaran with 6 people on board. They served many of the dishes we had at the potluck on Tahuata, but they also had poisson crue, which is pretty much the Polynesian version of ceviche. Our hosts spoke quite a bit of English, and we shared our wine with them, and the conversation was relaxed and enjoyable. Except the part where one of the men asked us if we were Catholic or Protestant. That was a bit awkward. Anyway, we found out during the conversation that Jack, one of the men there, was a good diver and fisherman, and Tim and Steve and one of the guys from Dragonfly made arrangements to go out fishing with him the next morning at 5:30 in exchange for some gasoline. (Incidentally, in addition to fishing, Jack also took the guys out diving for lobsters at dusk, and that was a very successful endeavor.
After dinner, they started with the entertainment including a guitar, a bongo drum, and a ukelele. A young girl, maybe 11 or 12 years old, did some singing and dancing and she was quite spectacular. At the end of the evening as things were winding down was when they started asking for things. The list wasn’t too long, and the only thing I remember was that they wanted some wine glasses if we had any to spare. I think Carolina went back the next day and took them some wine glasses and maybe some perfume or something for Caroline, the girl who sang for us. Interestingly, Fatu Hiva was the only place in French Polynesia where people asked us for things, the exception being William and his request for alcohol.
There was a church service going on when we walked to dinner and the singing was very welcoming. We asked if it would be OK for us to come to Easter service, and they said yes, but told us we (the women) would need to cover our shoulders. Every guidebook we have mentions that you should be sure to go to church at least once for the lively and beautiful singing, so we thought an evening Easter service would be perfect. It was a nice evening, and everything started outside and then there was a bit of singing and a procession as everyone filed into the church. The first song they sung was mesmerizing. It wasn’t all that lively, but the harmonizing was spectacular. Especially when they would transition from just the men singing to having the women join them in harmony. Brilliant. Unfortunately, from my perspective, the whole thing went downhill from there. It was stiflingly hot in the church, and the service turned out to be just your typical Catholic mass. It was in Marquesan, so I couldn’t understand anything, and I’m not sure if that made it better or worse, and as it turns out, one of the men from dinner the previous night, the one who asked us about our religion, was actually the priest. The service was long and boring, and we were sitting near the back and everyone around us seemed as miserable as we were. It couldn’t be over soon enough, and as we were all walking back to the dock, we laughed, and all agreed that would likely be the last service for us.
All that said, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Fatu Hiva and could have stayed much, much longer, but it already felt like time on our 3-month visa was ticking, so we had to keep moving.
Gresham Family Exodus 